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Friday, August 21, 2009

We finally got the results of the CAT scan about 30 minutes ago. They said that Kevin’s brain was a little bit more swollen and there was a little bit more bleeding. They have always said they expected this, after a car accident. One area of particular concern was his brain stem. They said that if it swells too much overnight, they will need proceed with a brain surgery. If it does not swell too much, they want to see if his body can repair itself.

So far, everyone that has gone in and spent time at Kevin’s side has felt better. Even though he is sedated, they have said it seems like he is fighting it. Which is good. The other item of note is that the nurse said his brain did not shake in his head. Not sure how they know this, but that is what she said, and that would be good news. The told our family they could go home tonight and come back at 6:45 AM CST to speak with the doctor. While they may be more comforting than saying ‘they shouldn’t leave’, I don’t think our family is buying it and are going to stay.

“Accident Report” – What I’ve pieced together from traffic reports, pictures online, etc… was that Kevin was travelling westbound on 31st and just west of 129th E Ave in Tulsa. He was turning left into a shopping center just West of Quik Trip at 129th and 31st. He turned in front of a broken down semi (that was sitting in the center lane with its hood up) and two cars going eastbound were on the other side of the car unseen by him. They both hit him on his passenger side. The following is a video from KOTV, channel six in Tulsa.

The neurosurgeon started out this morning, stating that Kevin has three blood clots on the brain stem. Those indicate that there is damage on his brain stem. That is inoperable due to being surrounded by the brain. They said it will take 7-10 days for his body to absorb the blood. The neurosurgeon said that since there was damage to his brain stem, Kevin would have some kind of damage, whether that means he would never wake up, would be paralyzed, or some other form of handicap. We wouldn’t know until later.

They took him off his paralytic medicine which completely left his system around 11:30 PM CST (after 7 hours). This means that they would stop using the drugs that were potentially keeping him from moving. This means he could move now if his body could. He has not moved yet. About an hour ago, they took him off his sedation medication, which was keeping him from waking. It should be out of his system after a couple hours. We are praying for Kevin to wake up and be healed.

Today, we went to lunch with the Caseys for Haven’s birthday. When we returned to our cars, after a couple hours, the driver side window was broken and our gps was stolen out of the car. For now we have parked the car in April’s garage so that no rain can get in the window, until we can get the window fixed. This is going to cost about $250.

In the past day, we also found out that the union, to which Kevin belongs, offered to fly us home to be with Kevin and family. After seriously weighing this, as well as talking to our Field Coordinator, Rep Elders, and Team Pastor, we have decided to take them up on their offer and fly back to the states this Monday. American Airlines has flights out of Milan, so we will need to take a train to Milan on Monday morning around 6:30 AM. We are waiting for the confirmation of our exact flights, which we should find out by tomorrow morning.

The Casey family is staying with us until Monday to help us run errands tomorrow, prepare for international travel and to love on us. April has graciously offered to watch our puppy, Brinkley, whom we will miss very much while we are gone. Kevin loves our little Brinkley, he introduced us to the breeder where we got him.

Thank you for your continued notes of encouragement, prayers and outright love. We are leaning on you in this time of tragedy. Pray with us for Kevin’s complete and rapid healing, that God may receive all the glory and men might turn their eyes on Him.

We have more information on Kevin’s condition. First, I want to thank everyone for the prayers, phone calls, visits to the hospital and checking on my family. There have been around 50 visitors to the hospital today. It means so much to us to have the kind of response we have had.

KTUL news channel 8 in Tulsa reported about the accident online….

“Tulsa police said a semi was blocking the center lane near 127th East Avenue and 31st Street.” When Kevin’s Mustang turned in front of the semi, and did not see two cars that were on the other side. The cars ran into Kevin’s passenger's side of the Mustang. http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/0809/651812.html. I called the news desk at KTUL and asked for more information. They told me they would put a video clip of the accident scene online. There is also a picture of Kevin’s car smashed in on the right side.

Police reports say he was found on scene unresponsive in the back seat bleeding. He was taken to St. Francis hospital in critical condition (in Tulsa), where they discovered he had three skull fractures, bleeding on the brain and a broken rib which caused a punctured lung.

When he got to the hospital late Thursday night, a CAT scan which showed no swelling in the brain (the most dangerous aspect of Kevin’s condition). Doctors performed a surgery to take care of a several inch long cut from his right eyebrow back even if the back of his right ear.

A neurosurgeon said they were very concerned about the bleeding/bruising on the brain. He said he may never wake up. He said even if he does, there is potential for damage to his brain (which is bruised on both sides of his brain). The doctor said they needed to watch for swelling which would be even more dangerous. About two hours ago, they took Kevin in for another CAT scan. They said we would hear within about an hour the results (we still have heard nothing). We just heard that the technicians have to read the scan, then the doctors will look at it, then finally discuss the results with the family in a private room.

They have kept Kevin sedated so that he could avoid pain, and not get in the way of the doctors and healing process. We did hear that Kevin was on 100% oxygen, not necessarily because he needed 100%, but because apparently he was trying to breathe on his own. They want his body to focus on other areas. He seems to be fighting this. We found out that one of the several area ministers who came told the family to tell Kevin how much we want him here, to pray with him, talk to him (when they visit his room). They did this, but the hospital staff had to ask them to stop, because his respiration level was increasing and they did not want this at this time. I wonder if it has to do with his mind getting stimulated and wanting to respond or fight this. I want him to fight it.

As you can imagine, it is extremely hard dealing with this from overseas. The emails and phone calls have been great and it has been made better due to our team mate, April and our fellow Team Expansion missionaries, Jason & Heather Casey. Jason, Heather and the kids were visiting us when we found out. There were planning on going back to Ancona today, but have lovingly offered to stay longer to help us through this most difficult process. Thanks for your prayers.

Please be praying for my (Matt’s) brother, Kevin. We just received word that he was in a bad car accident on Saturday night (It’s Sunday morning here). He is at Saint Francis hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma and is unconscious. He has a brain fracture and a punctured lung. He was unconscious when they brought him to the hospital, but was breathing on his own. He needs to have brain surgery. Please pray for him, us and our family in the states.

Please be praying for my (Matt’s) brother, Kevin. We just received word that he was in a bad car accident on Saturday night (It’s Sunday morning here). He is at Saint Francis hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma and is unconscious. He has a brain fracture and a punctured lung. He was unconscious when they brought him to the hospital, but was breathing on his own. He needs to have brain surgery. Please pray for him, us and our family in the states.

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About Kevin

This is from Kevin's own words off a profile online: "My name is Kevin and I shoot striaght. I like to joke around though and enjoy meeting people. My children are the highlights of my life next to GOD. My Mom, Dad, brothers, sister-in -law, and their children are very close to me also. I have many special friends and extended family and they know who they are. I love my job at AMERICAN AIRLINES. I'm a EXECUTIVE BOARD OFFICER for the TRANSPORT WORKERS UNION LOCAL 514. I love softball, hunting, and being involed in the community. I like to help people. I think this is what God intended us to do. I have the honor of setting on several boards. Vision 2025, Redcross Chapter, Redcross Blood Services and recently I've been asked on the INCOG federal reserve Board. I know every day matters so live it like you should."